Curse of Divinity
by Lilcaesar
Summary: The wars are over. Life is good. That is until the truth is revealed when a quest is issued that will change the lives of the demigods forever. What happens when they learn that maybe Olympus and those upon it are not the benevolent rulers they have claimed to be?


Chapter I

Images flashed before him; a flaming river, sands of shattered glass, a sea of monsters too numerous to count, the terrified form of a choking goddess, and finally wide, fearful eyes of startling grey.

Percy bolted awake. A scream nearly escaped his lips, but months of practice had allowed him to contain it. This was not an uncommon occurrence, though, as nightmares tended to disrupt most attempts at sleep. Percy looked around to make sure no one saw his near outburst and as he turned to his right the same startling grey eyes that had existed only a moment ago in his nightmare were now staring directly at him. It was at this moment that his present surroundings also became clear and Percy realized he was no longer in Tartarus.

Despite Annabeth's questioning gaze, Percy still took his time in observing the rest of what he now realized was a classroom. It appeared they were in their creative writing class. Good. That meant the school day was almost over. Percy's fraying nerves at his lack of sleep made school all the more insufferable, beyond the obvious complications of ADHD and dyslexia that accompanied being an elite warrior born to the mythical, yet all too real, Greek gods. Huh. You would think that having this knowledge for almost six years would dull its absurdness, but it still baffled Percy every time he thought about it. No one could have guessed that he, a troublemaking, chronic expulsionee in his youth, would become a twice savior of Olympus, slayer of the Minotaur, the Nemean Lion, and even the Titan Lord of Time Krono. Yet here he was, sitting in a classroom not four months removed from perhaps his greatest feat, though for this he could not claim all the credit not that he wanted to in the first place, the defeat of Gaea, the Earth mother, a primordial goddess born of Chaos itself. Percy was kind of surprised to still be alive, not because he thought he and his companions would fail, but because they had actually succeeded. A not insignificant portion of his mind had presumed that should the physical embodiment of the Earth be seared into oblivion, thanks Leo, then the Earth itself would crumble away. Upon reflection, it was a rather stupid idea though. After all, look to the heavens and see that they still ebb, flow, and sparkle in all their glory despite Ouranos' brutal castration and subsequent demise millennia ago.

A hard tap on his shoulder interrupted Percy's thoughts. As he turned towards the source he, ever so eloquently, mumbled, "huh?"

Annabeth, with clear exasperation in her eyes, finally stopped poking him.

"Come on, Percy. You can't be dozing off in class like that. Not if you want to graduate and attend college in New Rome with me next year."

"Of course. I'm sorry Wise Girl, sleep just hasn't been that easy recently."

Annabeth's eyes softened at the mention of restless nights, something she too experienced quite frequently as a result of their shared time in hell. Despite her sympathy, it still frustrated her greatly to see her boyfriend's nonchalance about academics.

"Senior year is nearly halfway over, Seaweed Brain, can't you just focus for a little bit longer?"

"I'll do my best," was Percy's simple reply. He had no interest in rehashing this argument for the thousandth time. He still did not see the need to attend mortal high school. With all that he's accomplished and the fact that he is a freaking (former) praetor of New Rome acceptance into any one of their university programs is all but guaranteed. Yet, somehow, Annabeth had convinced him that a mortal education was the best route. She's just lucky he is so madly in love with her that he would do anything for her. Anything. If his falling into Tartarus after her wasn't proof enough than he doesn't know what would be.

Another hard tap on the shoulder.

"Earth to Percy. The bell just rang, let's get out of here."

Freedom at last! Well, at least until next Tuesday. Fortunately, they had an extended weekend as Monday's classes were cancelled for some stupid holiday, but Percy is never one to complain about less school.

After packing their bags, the two headed to their shared locker, which was really just Percy's locker that Annabeth had commandeered for her own use as well since her own locker was conveniently located on the third floor nowhere near any of her classes. Percy reached the locker and spun the lock to the appropriate numbers, _45 1 4,_ and the door popped open. He grabbed his and Annabeth's coats. Face divine beings of unfathomable strength and power, no problem. Walk two blocks outside during winter in New York, no thank you.

As Percy stepped aside to allow Annabeth access to the locker a golden coin wriggled its way loose from one of the coats and rolled along the floor. Percy stuck his foot out and stopped it before the coin could wander too far away. As he bent to pick it up, a stray beam of light struck the coin just right as to make it glisten and give off an ethereal glow. For the first time, Percy truly took a moment to appreciate the beauty of a Drachma, the pure gold coins used as currency in Ancient Greece and still used today by demigods, mostly for Iris messages. Though what Iris did with all those coins was still a mystery. Percy resolved to ask her or Fleecy the next time he saw one of them.

Coming back to reality, Percy picked up the coin from off the floor and turned towards Annabeth while holding the coin up for her to see.

"This reminds me, we should probably Iris message Chiron and let him know we're coming up tonight instead of tomorrow like we had originally planned."

Having just finished loading her bag, Annabeth turned towards Percy and reached for her coat. As he handed it to her she responded, "good idea Seaweed Brain, though let's make sure your mom is still okay with driving us up there first."

"I reminded her about it this morning and she said everything was good to go. Hopefully she also had some time to bake cookies for the trip today."

Sally, Percy's mom and the greatest person to ever live on this Earth according to Percy, made the absolute best cookies, this was according to anyone who had ever tried them. Percy had attempted to user her recipe once and bake some cookies for himself as a kid. Needless to say, he and the oven don't get along on very good terms these days.

While Percy continued his cookie fantasy and nearly started drooling as he could almost smell the sweet, vanilla scent he hoped would bombard his nostrils when he arrived home, Annabeth had taken the liberty of packing all their things up and shutting the locker. Upon hearing the locker door slam shut Percy nearly jumped out of his shoes but attempted to play it cool. Meanwhile, Annabeth was struggling to contain her giggles. After composing herself, she grabbed Percy's hand and the two lovers began to walk together, hand-in-hand, towards the school's exit. With a push the doors opened, and the two demigods were nearly pushed back by the freezing winds. Turning towards Percy, with a smile tugging at her lips, Annabeth said but one word.

"Race?"

And she was off, leaving Percy gob smacked before he too bolted towards the grey Honda Civic parked near the rear of the lot.

Two thumps, nearly simultaneous, yet one most certainly struck first.

"I win," declared Annabeth between heavy, constricting breaths, but now grateful for the flushed and heated feeling of exercise as it brought a slight reprieve from the arctic temperatures of the air around her.

Percy, although slightly annoyed at having lost, was happy to see the glimmer in Annabeth's eyes as she unlocked the car. It was a sight he felt had become suppressed during the war but now was beginning to return in earnest and more frequently. He promised himself that he would do everything in his power to bring out that side of her as often as possible.

With an audible click the car doors unlocked and the two wasted no time throwing them open and scrambling inside the slightly warmer, yet still viciously cold vehicle. Waiting for the car to warm up, Percy turned towards his Wise Girl and took a moment to just appreciate her presence. She looked so cute with her grey beanie sitting perfectly atop her head of golden blonde princess curls, her grey scarf wrapped completely around her neck and obscuring the lower part of her face, and her grey mittens which she rubbed together so adorably. Percy took a moment to chuckle at his girlfriend's borderline obsession with the color so prominently displayed on all her accessories. He was about to comment on it when he looked down at his own attire and noticed the plethora of sea green present on his own person. He wisely chose not to saying anything on the matter.

As Annabeth readied herself to put the car in gear and pull out of the parking lot, Percy could not resist himself as he grabbed her face with both of his hands and proceeded to press a passionate kiss to her lips that relayed all the want and desire and love he felt or her.

Pulling away and locking eyes, "I will always love you," whispered Percy.

"Always," Annabeth's reply was filled with just as much love and warmth.

Despite all that had happened in his life, Percy was finally happy.


End file.
